receive the rest thought by thought as he is speaking. In any case he recognises the reception of the gift, whenever or however it is given, by the unction which is coming upon him: and this unction abides also upon those listeners who are filled with the Spirit. As Peter says, 2 Peter 1:21, "Holy men of God spake as they were carried along by The Spirit". There is no effort in such speaking: no searching for words, no wondering what to say next. As long as the unction is upon you you speak with ease and delight. When it lifts you have no more to say and come to a stop. This is a beautiful gift since it brings two members of an Assembly into a combined ministry of love and edification for the rest of the Church.

The one member may not have the faith to speak in his own language words which can be understood, and yet be free to speak in a tongue words of which he does not know the meaning. For, as soon as one utters words which one understands, one is responsible for what one says: but when one speaks in a tongue the responsibility for the meaning of the words rests upon the interpreter. And it is indeed a very responsible thing to utter words which purport to come from the Almighty.

There seems therefore to be as it were an increase of responsibility in the use of the gifts of the Spirit; and, as the Scriptures say, he that has faith to speak in a tongue should pray for the faith to interpret his tongue, and so edify the Church, and not only himself. We see here then the first steps in the ascending scale of usefulness in the gifts: "greater is he that prophesies than he that speaks in tongues, except he interpret"